The Defenders
Warning : despoiler forwards forThe Defenders !
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" I ’m the Immortal Iron Fist , sworn protector of K’un Lun . “With those word , Danny Rand ( Finn Jones ) foretell himself proudly to everyone he meets inMarvel ’s The Defenders . Rarely is anyone impressed . In nearly every instance , Danny is get together with mental rejection or eye - pealing . And yet , The Defendersdoesn’t puzzle out at all without Iron Fist . Of the four superheroes in Marvel and Netflix ’s long - forebode superhero squad up that includes Daredevil ( Charlie Cox ) , Jessica Jones ( Krysten Ritter ) , and Luke Cage ( Mike Colter ) , Iron Fist is the most inbuilt to the plot of the serial publication and the intrigue of the Hand , the ancient malign criminal establishment led by Alexandra ( Sigourney Weaver ) . The Hand desires Danny Rand ’s exponent , while the Defenders ( reluctantly ) work alongside Danny to keep the power of the Iron Fist from them . For once , everyone wants Iron Fist .
Marvel ’s stripe of critically - herald , fan - favourite hits on Netflix hit a roadblock whenIron Fistpremiered in March of this class . Daredevilseason one effectively built the street - story heroics of Marvel New York City and its 2d season was even better received . Jessica Joneswas beloved , whileLuke Cageinspired numerous thought - evoke think pieces . When devotee met Danny Rand , the billionaire inheritor to Rand Enterprises who returned to New York after 15 class of learning soldierlike artistry in the occult Himalayan monastery K’un - Lun , they were decidedly unimpressed . Unlike the emotionally deplumate Matt Murdock , the wittily sarcastic Jessica Jones , and the stately Luke Cage , Danny Rand was found to be childish and irritating , and the series was problematical . Fans and critics alikecame down intemperately onIron Fist , and quickly intend him as " the worst Defender . "
Fans who skippedIron Fistand are play Danny Rand for the first clip inThe Defenderswill in all probability derive away with the opinion that he ’s an plaguey appendage to the other , more mature heroes . The Defendersdoesn’t shy away at all from depicting Danny ’s character defects . However , Danny Rand inThe Defendersdoes make genuine progression as a eccentric from how he was in his own series , and he is founder leeway to show some good shades of his personality . Rather than Delaware - emphasize Danny Rand inThe protector , showrunners Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez drive the paired route and made Iron Fist the central Hero of Alexandria around whom all of the military action involving the Hand revolved .
When we last view Danny Rand and his Hand - fighting partner / sexual love stake Colleen Wing ( Jessica Henwick ) , they had get in in the Himalayas only to receive K’un - Lun had disappeared as a direct termination of Danny abandoning his part as its protector . The Defenderscatches up with Danny and Colleen months afterward , having scour the world unsuccessfully chasing the Hand with nothing to show for their endeavour . By the time they revert to the familiar distance of Colleen ’s Chikara Dojo in New York , Danny was more foiled and angry than ever in his failure to be a " one - humankind United States Army . " Colleen sagely suggested a new strategy : line up some aid , maybe fall in a team .
It turn out find some new friends was incisively the magic recipe Danny need . By the sentence he meet the other three Defenders and they fight down their way out of the Hand ’s Midland Circle skyscraper and take recourse in the Royal Dragon Chinese restaurant , we began to see some brainy flashes of the variety of character Danny Rand could finally become . Danny is the young Defender in years and life experience ; rubbing up against the more populace - aweary Jessica Jones and the stalwart Luke Cage , Danny was the only one who hold on the gee - whiz coolness of having other heroes with superpowers around to struggle aboard . short , Danny became relaxed and started being amusing . He proudly compensate for all of the damage to the eatery and buy everyone dinner party with his pitch-dark board . He also say the elbow room and promptly realized a team up was a rude progression of four superheroes demonstrate up at the same place at the same time to fight the same villains . Danny also egg on Luke about the two of them form a unit of measurement , bait comic fans who want to see the comic bookPower Man and Iron Fistbanded together on Netflix .
Danny was most impressed by Daredevil , however . He ’d heard of the exploits of The Devil of Hell ’s Kitchen and was appalled to find out Matt Murdock was a unsighted attorney - turned - ninja train by Stick ( Scott Glenn ) and The Chaste , which was an army mean to struggle the Hand that Danny had no estimation existed . Danny also thought Daredevil was just plain nerveless , especially his weapon system like his billy club , though he and the other Defenders resent Matt keeping his relationship with the Hand ’s weapon Elektra ( Elodie Yung ) from them . Of the four Defenders , Danny Rand and Matt Murdock had the most in common ; both had deep tie to the Hand and had been fighting them for twelvemonth . Matt Murdock at last infer it as well , though he was hesitant to put his trust in Danny or any of the other Defenders until the very end when he had no other choice .
The safe - natured laugh at the Defenders gave each other was short - lived . Danny rubs people the wrong way and is a lightning rod for insults . After strike his common contribution of being mocked for his glowingchiand for being the " speechless Iron Fist ever , " Danny typically flew off the hold . ( Count how many times the others , Luke Cage in particular , severalise Danny to calm down . ) When the other Defenders realise the Hand has been after Danny all along because his Iron Fist was the key to spread a charming room access so the Hand could gain ' the content ' that contribute to their immortality , Danny cursorily jumps to the conclusion that the other Defenders were shit him only because they wanted to hide him from the Hand . In typical Marvel style , discrepancy and misapprehension instantly provoke violence , and Danny notice himself fight all of the other Defenders , just as he had push Luke Cage earlier before they ’d been right introduce .
The Defendersalso decided to wrick Danny into the damsel - in - distress of the serial publication . After the Defenders ping him out , Danny spend the bulk of the final episodes tied up and held hostage , first by the Defenders and then by the Hand . He gets to redeem himself passably after he ’s freed and he battles Elektra , but she fob him into punch the doorway beneath Midland Circle with his Iron Fist , open up it and allowing the Hand access to the substance . When the other Defenders come to Danny ’s rescue , he fight back side by side with them until they defeat the Hand . As Midland Circle was about to implode , Daredevil stay behind and whispered something in Danny ’s ear before Danny made his escape with Luke and Jessica . What Murdock whisper to Danny was a new mission financial statement to interchange his ruined original mission to defend K’un - Lun -“protect my city . "
WhatThe Defendersultimately gifted to Danny Rand , which his own serial failed to do , was a buyback arc that spin him off into a new and hopefully better crusade . Danny and Colleen , who face her resurrected sensei from the Hand , Bakuto ( Ramon Rodriguez ) , and ended him once and for all , are the graphic symbol who grow and changed the most from the experience fighting alongside the Defenders . Danny was the focal point of the Hand ’s evil schemes , and he correctly learned he could n’t beat them on his own , whereas before , he was insistent to the point of folly he was a ' one - valet United States Army ' and that the Hand was his mission and his alone ( despite Colleen fighting alongside him ) .
By the end , Danny have both New York City as his true plate and Matt Murdock ’s challenge to take Daredevil ’s place as the protector of the people who walk its streets . In addition , by giving Colleen her own thoroughgoing expansive arc , Danny ’s most admirable companion shined even brighter . Colleen ’s idolatry to Danny is impregnable than ever , and maybe the good matter she sees in Danny may issue forth to light more and more . If someone as keen as Colleen call back so extremely of Danny , maybe there ’s something there after all . The addition of Misty Knight ( Simone Bissick ) to the cast ofIron Fistseason 2,potentially with a bionic weapon system , gives Danny another strong female fiber to toy off of and give way fans the Daughters of the Dragon squad up they ’ve been begging for in place of Power Man and Iron Fist .
at long last , Danny Rand remains Danny Rand . He ’s still unripe , arrogant , unconnected , well provoke , and the question of why Danny does n’t light up his Iron Fist more often continues to hover . However , The Defendersaddressed many issues lover have with Danny Rand and left Iron Fist better off than how they found him . The Defenderseven raised the level of Iron Fist ’s action by markedly improving his conflict scene so that Danny does come off more as the awesome martial creative person he ’s meant to be . Though Iron Fist absorbed a set of abuse throughout the series , Danny is the Defender who benefit the most from realise new tops Friend . The sometime byword " We ’re label by the company we keep " holds true for Danny ; the Defenders and Colleen Wing ca n’t aid but reflect well on the Immortal Iron Fist .
IfThe Defendersdidn’t quite fully deliver Iron Fist , it did showcase that Danny Rand has dandy potential . WithnewIron Fistseason 2 showrunner Raven Metzerreplacing Scott Buck , who is now guide upMarvel ’s Inhumans , here ’s hop Danny ’s upward trajectory continues by leap and bounds . By the end ofThe shielder , both we and Danny do get to see that the igniter at the end of Danny ’s clenched fist is a signal that there ’s hope yet for the sorry Iron Fist ever .
NEXT:HOW DEFENDERS SETS UP MARVEL NETFLIX PHASE 2
Marvel ’s The Defendersis available for streaming on Netflix .
